How much does it really cost to go to college?

The cost of college has gone up considerably over the past couple decades. What’s strange to see is how different college can cost from one school to another. Go to an Ivy League or top private school and expect to pay over $30,000 a year. Go to a community college and transfer to a four year state college, and (only considering tuition, not room and board), and you probably won’t spend $30,000 for all 4 years in tuition and fees.

It is shocking to see how much more a private school is than a state school. How can one school charge $25,000 a year more for the same degree? Is it really the same degree? Are you getting the same education?

Many people look at state schools as inferior because they cost so much less, but they don’t think about why they cost so much less. They assume that less cost to them means bad teachers, few programs, and a potentially bad experience.

If you went to a public elementary school and public middle school and high school, your educators received money from the government. This is just how it is set up with college except it costs a little more for them to run a college, which is why they charge you tuition. Private schools get no government funding.

College is worth as much as you get out of it, not the price you pay. Believe it or not, many public state schools are more ‘prestigious’ than private schools that cost more. Searching for a college to attend is a very involved process. If you want to get the best education for the best price, stop looking at the tuition price as a value rating.

What careers are you interested in? Look into the programs you are interested in of the colleges of your choice. If they don’t have your major, rule out that school. Ask friends and acquaintances who go to or went to the schools what they thought about them and the programs they offered.

Never rely on what you ‘hear around’ at school from other classmates or what people at other colleges think of other schools. Gossip is rarely reliable and often students at other colleges are much more partial to the school they are attending, especially if they were denied admission to the school you are interested in. You want real opinions from actual students and alumni.

Money isn’t everything. Search for the school with the best education and programs. Going to a more expensive school won’t get you a better job, but it will increase your loans causing a decrease in your salary for many years until you are able to pay them off for good.